The document outlines a webinar led by David Buckeridge and facilitated by Emily Clark, focusing on the establishment of a public health data system in Canada. It emphasizes the need for an effective interconnected system to support public health functions, highlighting challenges, goals, and required actions for implementation. The discussion includes the importance of social engagement, technical infrastructure, and governance in transforming public health data management.

1. Welcome!
• This webinar will be recorded.
• Your microphone and camera will be turned off for the duration of the
webinar.
• To ensure accessibility, live captions can be enabled from the control
panel.

2. February 9, 2022
Presenter: David Buckeridge
Facilitator: Emily Clark
An Evidence-Informed Vision for a Public Health Data
System in Canada

3. Housekeeping
• Connection issues
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Connection
• If you are experiencing technical issues please
send a private message to Alanna Miller
• Use the Q&A and chat to post questions
and/or comments throughout the webinar
• Post your questions in the Q&A
• Send questions about technical difficulties in a
private chat to Alanna Miller
• Polling

4. After Today
After the webinar, access the recording (in English) at
www.youtube.com/nccmt and slides in English and French at
www.slideshare.net/NCCMT/presentations.

5. Pre-webinar Polling Questions
1. How many people are watching today’s session with you?
A) Just Me
B) 2-3
C) 4-5
D) 6-10
E) >10
2. Have you visited the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools’ website or used its resources before?
A) Yes
B) No
3. If you stated YES on the previous question, how many times have you used the NCCMT’s resources?
A) Once
B) 2-3 times
C) 4-10 times
D) 10+ times

7. NCCMT Products and Services
Registry of Methods and Tools
Online Learning
Opportunities
Workshops
Video Series
Public Health+
Networking and
Outreach

8. 2021 CPHO Commissioned Reports
An Evidence-Informed Vision for a Public
Health Data System in Canada
• 2021 CPHO report:
• Canada.ca/CPHOreport
• 3 other reports that were commissioned to
inform the 2021 CPHO report:
• https://nccph.ca/projects/reports-to-accompany-
the-chief-public-health-officer-of-canadas-report-
2021

9. Presenter
Dr. David Buckeridge
Professor, Department of
Epidemiology,
Biostatistics and
Occupational Health at
McGill University

10. An Evidence-Informed
Vision for a Public Health
Data System in Canada
David Buckeridge, MD PhD FRCPC
Professor, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University
Canada Research Chair, Health Informatics and Data Science
david.buckeridge@mcgill.ca

11. Establishing a Canadian Public Health Data System
System
Structure
Social and
Human
IT and
Informatics
Overarching
Considerations
Clarify common goals
Identify value proposition for participants
Develop a governance model
Conduct public engagement to establish trust
Develop a broad strategy to enhance data and digital skills
Establish mechanisms to leverage academic and industrial expertise
Encourage coordinated digital transformation
Develop a roadmap to interoperability for public health data systems
Identify organization to provide leadership and technical expertise
Develop a phased implementation plan

12. Establishing a Public Health Data System
Why Background and Conceptual Foundations
Where Evidence-Informed Vision
What Enabling Components
How Establishing, Assuring Enabling Components

13. Establishing a Public Health Data System
Why Background and Conceptual Foundations
Where Evidence-Informed Vision
What Enabling Components
How Establishing, Assuring Enabling Components

14. Background to This Report
A commissioned report* for the 2021
CPHO report, which provides a vision of
a strengthened public health system
Many previous and ongoing efforts have
described the limitations of public
health data systems in Canada
Report draws on these & other experiences.
Report looks forward to identify what is
needed and how to achieve those things.
*https://nccph.ca/projects/reports-to-accompany-the-chief-public-health-officer-of-canadas-report-2021

15. Foundations and Methods
Public health
Essential services, including research. Core
components are similar across frameworks.
Biomedical informatics
“Data” includes data, information, knowledge, and
evidence. Interoperability of data systems.
Systems theory
A framework for considering how entities can work
together effectively.
Scoping literature review and consultations
See report for supporting citations and appendix
for details of methods.
https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/publichealthservices
/essentialhealthservices.html
Chiolero A, Buckeridge D. Glossary for public health surveillance in the age
of data science. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2020 Jun;74(7):612-616.

16. Establishing a Public Health Data System
Why Background and Conceptual Foundations
Where Evidence-Informed Vision
What Enabling Components
How Establishing, Assuring Enabling Components

17. A Vision for a Public Health Data System
Canadians can access the data they need to make the
best decisions to improve public health through:
The coordinated interoperation of independent systems under
the control of different organizations in support of essential
public health functions;
A shared understanding of the essential public health functions,
the data requirements of these functions and the roles of all
participants within the system in performing these functions;
and,
An ability to access the data and analytical capacity needed to
perform essential public health functions regardless of the
location of these resources within the overall system.

18. Establishing a Public Health Data System
Why Background and Conceptual Foundations
Where Evidence-Informed Vision
What Enabling Components
How Establishing, Assuring Enabling Components

19. Enabling a Public Health Data System
System Structure Components
Social and Human Components
Information Technology and Informatics Components

20. System Structure Components
Many systems with data relevant to public health functions
operate independently across sectors and levels.
These data systems must work together to have an effective
public health data system in Canada.
This complex system must be engineered to form an
effective system of systems (SoS).
A large-scale integrated system, composed of independently
operated sub-systems networked together for a common goal.
Experience from large-scale systems (e.g., GEOSS) highlights
success factors for a SoS:
Explicit and shared goals among participants,
Shared overall system governance, and
Clear understanding of the benefits of participating.

21. Social and Human Components
Public engagement and trust is needed.
For data sharing and political will.
Engagement must be broad and meaningful.
Indigenous communities must play a role in
development and governance.
Trained personnel are necessary.
Widely recognized need, but few advances.
Skills needed in public health and:
Data management and analysis,
Effective use of new digital technologies, and
Data governance and data sharing.
A Canadian public health data system would be a sociotechnical system
where social and human components are critical to its success.

22. IT and Informatics Components
To interact with a larger system, independent data
systems must be able capture, store, and
interchange data in a standard manner.
Many data systems in public health are outdated or
provide limited functionality, creating a “technical
debt”, which must be addressed.
Independent systems can be networked using a
federated approach (e.g., Sentinel) where
Disaggregated (“micro”) data remain within independent
data systems or enclaves, and
Analyses visit data as needed and return results.
A brokering approach can help limit the resources
needed for independent systems to participate.

23. Enabling a Public Health Data System
System Structure
Social and Human
IT and Informatics
Explicit and shared goals among system participants
Shared governance, policies, and financing
Clear perceptions of benefits of participating in system
Public engagement and trust
Trained personnel to interact with system
Single systems that are “fit-for-purpose”
Mechanism for effectively networking systems

24. Establishing a Public Health Data System
Why Background and Conceptual Foundations
Where Evidence-Informed Vision
What Enabling Components
How Establishing, Assuring Enabling Components

25. Establishing the Enabling Components
System Structure
Social and Human
Information Technology and Informatics
Overarching Considerations

26. Establishing System Structure
(Goals, Governance, Benefits)
Essential public health functions provide a foundation for goals.
Greater precision about functions could identify data system requirements.
All functions, including research, should be considered.
The value of participating must be clear.
Resources are required to engage in governance and to modify systems.
The value may differ across stakeholders, but it should be grounded in
facilitating their ability to perform essential public health functions.
Meta-governance requires resources and organizational capacity.
Individual organizations would also need resources to adapt their planning and
operations to participate in larger system.

27. Establishing Social and Human
(Engagement, Trust, Skills)
Engagement is needed with a broad range of stakeholders to
transparently develop and communicate system goals and values.
Trust in data sharing requires compliance with existing privacy and security laws
and a robust set of practices and policies.
A broad training strategy is needed that goes beyond current core
competencies to address skills in data and digital systems.
Innovative mechanisms needed to support effective use of digital technologies.
Capacity can be leveraged from research and commercial partners.
Information blocking must be addressed.

28. Establishing IT and Informatics
(Robust, Interoperable)
Considerable investment will be required to address the technical debt.
Modernization would drive a digital transformation of public health in Canada
with digital technologies used to meet public health objectives.
This could drive evidence-based, convergent evolution towards interoperability.
Move to a federated model from a centralized, hierarchical approach.
Data governance clarifies who can access which data for what purpose.
Messaging and data standards (incl. common data model) need coordination.
Privacy-preserving approaches exist to enable data linkage and analysis.

29. Overarching Considerations
Awareness of shortcomings of public health data systems is not new.
Lessons can be learned from previous reviews.
Panorama highlighted the need for shared goals, agility, public health leadership.
Technical expertise and leadership in public health informatics and other
disciplines is needed to drive development and implementation.
Three models have been proposed
Use existing F/P/T structures: Post-SARS led to PHAC. Engages P/T, but can be slow and
influenced by short-term political considerations
Adapt existing pan-Canadian organization: Canada Health Infoway and Panorama post-
SARS. CIHI presents a promising operational and governance model.
Create new organization: As occurred with Canada Blood Services and Hema Quebec.
New organizations focused on public health data have been created in other countries.

30. Establishing a Canadian Public Health Data System
System
Structure
Social and
Human
IT and
Informatics
Overarching
Considerations
Clarify common goals
Identify value proposition for participants
Develop a governance model
Conduct public engagement to establish trust
Develop a broad strategy to enhance data and digital skills
Establish mechanisms to leverage academic and industrial expertise
Encourage coordinated digital transformation
Develop a roadmap to interoperability for public health data systems
Identify organization to provide leadership and technical expertise
Develop a phased implementation plan

31. Questions?

32. An Evidence-Informed
Vision for a Public Health
Data System in Canada
David Buckeridge, MD PhD FRCPC
Professor, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University
Canada Research Chair, Health Informatics and Data Science
david.buckeridge@mcgill.ca

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34. Webinar Feedback
Your responses will be kept anonymous.
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following:
1. Participating in the webinar increased my knowledge and understanding of evidence-informed decision
making.
2. I will use the information from today’s webinar in my own practice.
3. Which of the following statements apply to your experience with the webinar today (check all that
apply):
□ The webinar was relevant to me and my public health practice
□ The webinar was effectively facilitated
□ The webinar had opportunities to participate
□ The webinar was easy to follow along
□ The webinar met my expectations
Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree
Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree

35. Webinars from the NCCMT
Learn more about our webinars:
http://www.nccmt.ca/capacity-development/webinars
12

36. For more information:
NCCMT website: www.nccmt.ca
Contact: nccmt@mcmaster.ca